When you have a judgment to recover, you cannot be too rich, too thin, or know too much about your judgment debtor. Some judgment creditors forget the most obvious people to ask, the ex-spouses or ex-partners of their judgment debtor. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I am a Judgment Broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.
Usually, the more you know about your judgment debtor, the better the chances are to get your money judgment paid and satisfied. When recovering a judgment, one of the first things to discover about your judgment debtor is, who are their ex-spouses or ex-partners. Then, you can find out how to contact them as part of your post judgment discoveries.
The ex-partner or ex-spouse of your judgment debtor may have a gold mine of facts and information that might make it much easier to enforce your judgment. Sometimes, the ex-partner or ex-spouse of the judgment debtor will hold a grudge against them, and may agree to share information with you.
In the discovery phase of a judgment recovery project, it is usually a good idea to contact the judgment debtor’s ex or exes to find out what you can learn. When you contact their ex, it is wise to tread slowly and carefully. Without mentioning details, explain you have a judgment against the debtor and you are in a real pickle. Let them know in a very humble way that you need their help. Chances are, they will know what it is like to be burned by their ex.
Before you know it, many will be talkative, telling you everything in the world about the bum, often much more than you want to know. Some of the information they may share might be more costly, or more difficult to discover from other sources. Some of their information may include stuff that you probably would not find anywhere else.
The judgment debtor’s ex may know where they work, bank, or their other assets. You may learn valuable information about how to locate your judgment debtor. If a couple had children, ex-spouses usually remain involved in their children’s lives in some way. Because of this, the judgment debtor’s ex-spouse will almost always know current and valuable facts that can help in your investigation of clues about the judgment debtor’s available assets.
If the judgment debtor has been sending child support, alimony, or some other funds to their ex, you can bet they know about the judgment debtor’s banking information. Let their ex be the one to bring up the subject of the judgment debtor’s banking information.
After you talk with the judgment debtor’s ex, let them know what a big help they have been to you. Although they will do most of the talking, thank them for listening to your problem with your judgment debtor. Do not underestimate the value of the information from the judgment debtor’s ex.
This website provides bank routing numbers. It may help once in a while when all you have is a routing number for the debtor’s bank account. It is nationwide database: www.gregthatcher.com/FedWire/State/CA?action=browseByState&arg=CA.